Together
by Joe Fenton
Summary: Nodoka decides that she will accompany Genma and Ranma on their training trip.
1. Every Journey Begins With A Single Step

A Ranma 1/2 alternate universe mini-series. A PG rating for language and situations.

This story and a few others can be found on my web page at  
http://www.geocities.com/jlfenton65/  
jlfenton65@yahoo.com  
  
Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. and was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  
This story is of my own derivation and is not intended for commercial purposes, so please don't sue me.  


Author's Notes: This is the one of a series of alternate realities for the Ranma characters. In them, I explore what might happen if something different had happened at some point. Because these are alternate realities, characters may not be the same as in the 'normal' Ranma universe. They are not out of character, they are _different_ characters due to the differences in how the story unfolds. Some portions of the story may be more funny, and others more dramatic as I see fit. The story does assume the reader to be familiar with the more common events in the Ranma manga.

Together

Chapter 1: Every Journey Begins With A Single Step

by Joe Fenton

Soun Tendo knelt next to the low table in his living room; across the table sat his best friend and old training partner, Genma Saotome, and Genma's wife Nodoka. The stress Soun was under was evident in the look of utter exhaustion and sadness; the group had just returned from offering their prayers to the late Mrs. Tendo. It was not a festive time in any respect.

Genma offered his old friend some sympathy. "I feel really bad about not being here sooner, Soun; I'm just glad Nodoka delayed the training trip I was going to take Ranma on, or I'd have missed your letter completely. If there's anything at all I can do, you _must_ let me know." He was serious about this; the two were closer than brothers. After training under The Master, who wouldn't be? Then to lose his wife so suddenly - Genma wondered if he would be as strong under similar circumstances.

Soun chose the less painful topic to discuss. "Why _did_ you put off the trip? The way you were talking about it the last four years, I'd have bet good money you'd be on the road by now."

Genma opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again after a quick look at his wife.

She answered for him. "Do you really think I'd let him just run off with my only child for ten years? He even had some silly idea that if he just made a seppuku pledge, I'd allow it." She huffed at the thought. "No, Genma may have a free hand in the boy's training, but I will be there to be _sure_ he becomes a real man." She gently led the conversation back the way it needed to go. "How are the girls handling this? Maybe I should have a little talk with them."

Soun, looked down at his untouched cup of tea sadly. "Perhaps - perhaps you should; I don't know if I'm doing everything I should for them. Kasumi has decided it's her place to take over the household affairs; I help when I can, but Kasumi seems to like handling it alone as much as I allow her. I think - I think she feels closer to her mother by filling her role."

Nodoka nodded. "They spent so much time together cooking and picking up after you slobs." She gave Soun a light smile to take the edge off her words. "It's only natural she'd get comfort performing the tasks they shared for so long. Just be sure to not let her take on too much; a load is easiest to carry when shared."

"Yes, I'll remember that." Soun brightened slightly. "I've been teaching the Tendo School of Anything Goes to my youngest, Akane. She's distraught by the loss of her mother, naturally, but we spend enough time together in training that I don't think she'll lose herself in grief." He glanced over at his long-time partner. "You'd best teach that boy well, Genma, or you're likely to find my girl better once you return."

Genma scoffed at the idea. "Not likely, Soun; you won't recognize the boy once I'm done with him."

Nodoka laughed lightly. "That's exactly why I'm coming along, husband. I'd prefer to recognize my son."

Soun smiled a little wider at the exchange. "Say, where is little Ranma anyway?"

Genma smiled widely. "He and Akane got in an argument over who could break the most boards, so she took him out to the practice hall for a little contest. Those two seem just perfect for each other; I'm telling you, the two schools will be joined, just as we envisioned."

Nodoka gave him a sour look. "They're _six_, husband. Don't go celebrating just yet; we don't know that the pair will even like each other."

"So what does that have to do with an arranged marriage?"

Nodoka was about to bring him to task when a shout diverted everyone's attention. Looking out the sliding doors to one side of the compound, they saw Ranma running about, Akane close on his heels. She held a board that was nearly as long as she was tall in her hands and whacked Ranma over the head with it every chance she could get. They circled the koi pond twice then disappeared around the back of the house, headed back towards the dojo on the other side of the compound.

Soun sat pensively a moment. "Should we try to break them up or...?"

Nodoka just sighed as Genma answered.

"No - it's good training for the boy. A little whack to the head with a board will help build his stamina."

Nodoka put a hand to her temple. This was _precisely_ the reason she was coming on this training trip. No telling _what_ Genma would do to her son if she wasn't there to at least moderate some of his more extreme notions of what entailed 'training'.

Soun nodded as if this was a most logical idea. His countenance then dropped as he thought of his middle daughter. "I worry the most about Nabiki. I don't know what to do about her; she just sits in her room and won't talk to any of us. Kasumi has the house, Akane has the Arts, but what about Nabiki? I can't seem to find anything to bring her back to us. Between helping Kasumi around the house and Akane's training, I don't have as much time for her, and she's suffering from it. I weep to think of what will become of my poor little girl." At that, he put thoughts into action, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Nodoka teared up, thinking of the little girl herself. "I will speak with her... maybe she'll open up to me."

Soun looked at her gratefully. "Yes, thank you Nodoka. Anything for my little Nabiki."

Genma frowned at his wife. "But Dear, we're on a training trip. If we spend too much time here, it'll just be that much harder on the girl when we leave."

Nodoka gave him one of her fiercest looks. "Genma Saotome! There is no way I am going to ignore a little girl who just lost her mother!"

A light went off over Genma's head. His look of sudden surprise turned quickly to practiced calm. "Well, perhaps you should stay and help the girl. It will be hard on me and Ranma, but 'the life of a Martial Artist is ever fraught with hardship'." He liked that quote a lot. "For the good of the girl, you must do this."

Nodoka started to protest, then held her reply, looking torn. She wasn't about to let Genma take her son, but Ranma would need training to become the man she wanted him to be; at the same time, she couldn't just run off and leave Soun with a daughter in danger of losing her mental health.

The silence held a moment, then was broken by Soun. "Maybe - maybe she could go with you on your training journey. It would give Nabiki someone to look after her, the mother-figure she might not get here. At the same time, it would provide Nodoka with someone to spend her time with while you and Ranma train. Yes. Nodoka could train her to be a proper young lady." Soun was looking more and more happy at the thoughts as he expressed them.

Genma looked flabbergasted. This was _not_ what he had been trying to accomplish - not at all! "But - but Soun! To take a girl away from her home! For ten years! Should we do that to her?"

Nodoka finally spoke up. "Genma has a valid point. Let me speak with Nabiki; we'll discuss this more afterwards."

The next morning found Soun, Kasumi, and Akane waving tearfully as the Saotomes and Nabiki left. Genma and Ranma strode firmly in the lead, Genma with a huge pack and Ranma with a much smaller one. Nodoka and Nabiki followed behind them, Nabiki firmly clutching Nodoka as they made their way down the street; she didn't look back once as she left her home behind.

****

A few months on the road had made fast friends of Ranma and Nabiki; what little time left to Ranma when not actively training with his father was spent playing with his new friend. Life had developed a kind of rhythm: spend some time on the road; spend some time training at one place or another; spend some more time on the road; spend some time in a town while Genma earned more money for their training trip. This was not precisely how Genma and Soun had done _their_ training trips with The Master, but Nodoka would not allow such dishonorable behavior; she wanted her son to be a 'Man Among Men'. Thus, the current conflict between her and Genma.

Nodoka berated her husband as they walked down the street. Up ahead, Nabiki and Ranma ran back and forth, taking ten running steps for every one of the adult's; they glanced back at the couple every once in a while. They had stayed at this town little more than a month and were glad to be back on the road. After all, the next place could be even more exciting.

"Why's Auntie so mad at Uncle Genma?"

"Dunna know. Maybe it's 'cause of Uc-chan."

Ranma had no idea how right he was.

"Honestly Genma! I leave the children with you for _one hour_ to buy supplies only to come back to find you trying to marry my boy off to a _street vendor_! Have you no shame? What about the pact with Tendo-san? Have you no honor?"

Genma sighed as he walked along; he threw in an occasional 'Yes Dear' every now and then to keep his wife from going further than simply yelling. He did _not_ want her unwrapping the family sword she carried. He thought of all that okonomiyaki and just kept walking. Oh well - easy come, easy go. He just hoped that Kuonji-san didn't take _too_ much offense at what Nodoka had to say about their negotiations.

****

Nabiki sat with her back to the shredded tree; she was snuffling around tears as she stroked the head of her ten-year-old friend. "Don't you worry, Ran-chan. Auntie will take care of nasty old Uncle when she gets back."

Ranma just leaned into her more and purred. The nearby dojo was missing a wall; that, the tree, the scratches covering every square centimeter of Ranma's body, and his behavior would ensure Genma's fate.

The Cat-Fist training exercise had not gone exactly as planned - which was why Genma had waited for Nodoka to go up to the local shrine before carrying it out. It had required careful preparation over the last few days to be ready for the attempt. Gathering all the cats necessary had been fairly easy; he told Ranma that catching the strays was a training technique to build his speed. Nabiki had even helped to catch a few; Nodoka had laughed as the children ran about trying to corner the elusive creatures. Obtaining the food needed had been trickier: Nodoka would have noticed a sudden increase in certain of their foodstuffs; he had to cut back on his sake allowance and accumulate the items slowly. He had purchased more than was called for in the training book, but he wanted to be sure he had enough; he figured he could always eat what was left over.

The wait for a time when he had Ranma alone seemed interminable, but Nodoka had finally gone to a nearby shrine - probably to offer more prayers that Ranma become a 'Man Among Men', as she liked to put it. Well, that was what _training_ was for. After Nodoka was well gone, he called the boy into the dojo where he had stashed all the cats; Nabiki watched with interest as Genma wrapped Ranma in fish sausages.

"What's that for Uncle?"

"It's to help the boy learn a new technique. I got it out of this training manual." He waved the book in question before the pair. "You _do_ want to learn a new technique, don't you boy? This one is said to make you unbeatable."

Ranma looked at his pop wide-eyed. "Really? _Cool_! What do I gotta do?"

Genma opened the trap door leading to the cellar under the dojo. "Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

He picked the boy up and tossed him down the hole. Almost immediately, the screech of dozens of hungry cats competed with Ranma's cries as the cats fought for the sausages wrapped about him. Nabiki started screaming at the noise, not letting up even when Ranma finally dragged himself from the cellar. The way the boy leapt from the hole and moved to the wall told Genma he had succeeded. He started to tear up as he realized his boy had once more managed something many adults never would - that is until one cat happened to escape the cellar as well. The boy took one look at it and started screaming worse than Nabiki.

Genma frowned. This wasn't good... Nodoka would forgive a few scratches on the boy to learn a new technique; she knew that many of the training exercises were dangerous and the boy was often a mass of bruises. But having her manly little boy act like a little girl around cats would earn Genma the flat edge of the family blade; the darn woman would leave him looking worse than the boy. This was not good at all! Oh well, as the saying goes, 'If you're thrown from the horse, the best thing to do is get right back on it.' He couldn't get enough of the fish sausages; the manual called for them, but they were just so expensive. The dried sardines he had gotten would probably do just as well. He nodded to himself as he decided on his course of action. He grabbed the boy from his spot in the corner, wrapped him up again, and tossed him down into the cellar. After the dried sardines failed, he felt sure the salted sardines would work... or the fish cakes. He _really_ hoped the fish cakes would do the trick since he had nothing else.

Nabiki held her hands over her ears as Ranma's screams came up through the floor; then she was thrown back against the wall as _Ranma_ came up through the floor - but this wasn't a Ranma she'd ever seen before - he was crouching on his hands and arching his back. He looked at Genma and hissed; one swipe sent Genma flying through the wall, his gi in shreds. Ranma jumped through the hole and chased the martial artist around; several trees showed damage from where he tried to escape the young boy's fury.

Nabiki stepped gingerly through the hole in the wall and examined the destruction in amazement. She watched open-mouthed as Ranma _shredded_ a tree trying to get to Genma. The aging man jumped from the tree and lit off. Ranma was about to give chase when Nabiki called to him.

"Ranma! Stop!"

Surprisingly, he did stop and looked over at the familiar voice. This was a voice he trusted; this one wouldn't hurt him the way the other had. He ambled over on all fours, then rubbed against her leg, purring.

Nabiki started at this behavior, then tentatively reached down and stroked his hair. "Ran-chan? Are you all right?"

As she examined him closer, she noticed the extent of his injuries. Although none of the scratches were serious, the shear number of them was terrifying. A few of the deeper scratches had bled a little. The worst was the look in his eyes; Nabiki struggled to see some kind of intelligence in them. She slowly walked to the tree, then sat to wait for Auntie Nodoka. Ranma bounced over and plopped down beside the girl, his head in her lap so she could pet him some more. Nabiki whispered calmly to the boy as she fought her tears and waited for Auntie - she'd know what to do.

****

"Ah, man!" Ranma looked at the ink mark along his forearm. "Not another one!"

Nabiki just smirked. "You know the rules Ranma. Now are you going to fight, or do you concede this match?"

"No way! I haven't even got warmed up yet." Ranma had been standing on one leg and now kept the marked arm at his side.

Nabiki smiled and went into the ready position with her bokken. She knew she could egg the boy on, despite the handicap; he was just too competitive for his own good. She remembered when Auntie first started her in the basic forms of Kenjutsu. It had been easy enough to convince Ranma to spar with her; Genma did not want Ranma fighting with weapons, but it would be good practice on how to deal with an opponent using a weapon... that is until Genma caught Ranma treating the bokken as just another piece of wood and not the sword it was meant to represent. Thus, he had established the handicap system they currently used: Nabiki would apply ink to the 'sharp' edge of the blade; any limb that showed an ink mark would be considered a hit and Ranma was no longer allowed to use it. After Nabiki and Ranma finished, Genma would take time to further train Ranma in the more advanced forms of Anything Goes, making sure that Ranma felt every mark Nabiki gave him with the bokken. Ranma learned very quickly to avoid the inked edge of her blade.

"Well, I suggest you get warmed up _real quick_."

The glint in her eyes made Ranma drop his trademark smirk; this was not going to be a pleasant session. Ranma had nearly had a heart attack that morning when Nodoka mentioned that Nabiki was about ready to try a real sword. She might be, but one look at the ink on him convinced him that he sure wasn't. At thirteen, Nabiki had the edge of puberty on her side, and she made sure he remembered that. As Ranma faced off against her once more, he noticed again that a lot more about Nabiki had changed than just the sudden increase in height. He was still not sure how he should react to the changes in his long-time friend, but he thought he liked them.

He watched the girl twirl the bokken expertly; well, expertly to his eyes. Nabiki knew Ranma was reacting to the changes she was undergoing as she entered the teen years. She liked to tease the younger boy just a bit; not enough to get him mad, but enough to throw him off a little. It gave her an edge in these matches and she liked that. Ranma's thoughts were still elsewhere when Nabiki laid into him with the bokken; he was really going to be hurting after his lessons with Genma tonight.

****

Ranma walked along the top of a fence as he made his way to high-school; he sighed as he went. They _would_ have to stay here long enough that he had to go to school again; freshman year at a boy's school didn't appeal to him at all. Nabiki was the smart one; her grades were always impeccable. Nodoka had tried to spend as much time with Ranma on studies as with Nabiki, but it was a struggle as Genma had a low opinion of school work and kept Ranma very busy on his training.

He thought longingly of the upcoming trip to China. That's why they were here, after all; Pop had a job so they would have enough money for the trip. He snorted as he remembered Mom's reaction to Pop's idea that they just swim to China. The thought of his mom and Na-chan swimming to China made him want to laugh. Well, Nodoka had vetoed that idea right then and there.

Just as well, he thought. That gave him the time to wait the extra day it had taken Ryoga to show up for their man-to-man fight. He glanced back where the boy in question followed him; he was far enough back to where he could keep Ranma in sight, but not look like he was actively following him. Ranma knew it was because the boy had the worst sense of direction, but was not going to make an issue out it. He was more irritated at the ugly school uniform he was forced to wear; next to that, anything else was insignificant.

Another glance back showed Nabiki coming up behind them swiftly. He stopped, then hopped down to the sidewalk to wait for her. Ryoga noticed Ranma waiting and immediately got mad, thinking Ranma was confronting him. He failed to notice the girl until all three met at the same point.

Ryoga was ready to tear into Ranma when he finally noticed Nabiki and froze solid.

"Ran-chan, I packed you a lunch." She handed the boy a bento. "I know how bad your school is at lunch-time and I'd rather you didn't have any more trouble." She looked over at Ryoga. "I'm sorry about the fight the other day. 'Little brother' is sometimes just too full of himself."

Ranma got indignant. "Hey! I'm not little and I'm not your brother!" He made no attempt to dispute the rest; if you're good, it's not showing off.

Nabiki just smirked at him, then turned to Ryoga. "This is just a little way of apologizing for him since he can't bring himself to do it."

Ryoga failed to notice the bento she was holding out to him. He was utterly captivated; never had he seen such a vision of loveliness. She had just recently had her hair cut shorter; she liked to let her hair grow while living in town, but soon they'd be back on the road and shorter hair was so much easier to deal with. The school uniform of the girl's school she attended only enhanced her beauty instead of covering it up. She smiled at him, grabbed one of his hands and placed the bento in it. He just stood staring as she walked away, headed for her own school. Slowly, he recovered and looked at the bento in his hand. He began to walk off in a daze, not noticing he was headed the wrong direction.

Ranma grabbed an arm and steered him in the correct direction. "Come on, lover-boy. School's waitin'."

Ryoga came to suddenly and grabbed Ranma. "Ranma! _Who_ is that girl?!"

Ranma smiled a little. The lost-boy was clearly smitten. "Why, that's just Nabiki. She's the daughter of a friend of Pop's. She's been staying with me and my mom and pop."

Ryoga frowned at this. "Staying with you?"

Ranma smiled a bit wider, but decided not to tease the boy for once. "Ah, don't fret it. She's like a sister to me - an older sister at that." Ah what the heck, a little teasing never hurt anyone. "I didn't know you had a thing for older women."

"Ranmaaaa!" Ryoga bristled and swung at him.

Ranma laughed as he jumped over the blow. He took off towards school with Ryoga on his heals. At least he knew Ryoga wouldn't get lost today.

Things settled into a rhythm - Ranma and Nabiki would head off for school, they'd meet Ryoga, Nabiki would give him a bento and head for the girl's school, then Ranma and Ryoga would continue on to the boy's school - with Ryoga often angrily chasing a laughing Ranma. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.

One morning as the three young people met, Ryoga noticed a different air about his pair of friends. Nabiki was definitely down, while Ranma was practically jumping with excitement.

"What's up?"

Ranma radiated joy as he related the news. "We're finally goin' to China! Pop saved up enough - well Mom did actually, Pop woulda blown it all by now - and now we can finally make the last leg of our trainin' journey before headin' home!" He practically danced as he walked down the street.

Ryoga had stopped dead, frozen in place as his heart shattered. "G-g-going to China?"

Nabiki nodded sadly to the boy. She knew he had a crush on her, but hadn't said anything as she knew this day was coming. She just hoped he would move on and put them behind him. He was actually a rather nice boy and she'd grown fond of him; that's why she'd kept bringing him a bento instead of giving it to Ranma to give to him - that and Ranma would eat it himself, otherwise.

She said her good-byes and walked off toward her own school. Ranma continued on towards the boy's school; he noticed Ryoga hadn't moved yet, but knew the lost-boy wouldn't let him get completely out of sight. He'd miss Ryoga, but that didn't compare to the joy he found on the road - seeing new sights and learning new techniques. He promptly fell to dreaming of the upcoming trip.

Ryoga watched his first love walk off; he ground his teeth and swore to the heavens - he'd follow them to _hell_ and back to stay near his beloved Nabiki.

****

Mount Quanjing, Bayankala Range, Qinghai Province, China. A guide in a Chinese Mao suit led a man, a women, a boy, and a girl past a series of small pools; the pools were here and there and no two exactly alike. The only common feature being the bamboo poles sticking up out of the water: about ten feet high, each pool had two or three apiece.

"Here, sir. Is legendary 'Training Ground of Accursed Springs'." He gestured at the pools.

Ranma shrugged off his pack; he was wearing a gi - not his usual clothing, but Pop had said today they'd be training hard at a legendary training site. He looked disgustedly at the pools. "What's so hot about this place?"

The guide looked over at him in surprise. "Is very dangerous, young sir. Nobody use now."

Genma put down his own pack and faced the boy. "If you're ready, _follow me_!"

With that, he sprang out across the closest pool to a bamboo pole. Ranma sprang to a pole about twenty feet down and faced him in a relaxed stance.

Off to the side, Nodoka and Nabiki walked further down and waited for the men to finish their exercise. They had plenty of practice waiting while Genma and Ranma fought each other, and sometimes other people, in the strangest of locations. This one wasn't even remotely as scary as the last place they'd fought. Nabiki still got the shivers as she remembered Uncle and Ran-chan fighting from ropes dangling into a fifteen hundred foot chasm. She agreed with Ran-chan on this one.

The guide seemed to think otherwise. As Genma and Ranma faced off, he waved his arms and yelled. "Ah! Sirs! What you doing?!"

Ranma took a more offensive stance. "Come on, Pop! Let's see whatcha got."

"You're going down, boy!"

The guide was still shouting. "Please, sirs! Very bad if fall in spring!"

With that, they sprang at each other. It's just as well that the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts specialized in aerial attacks. Ranma twisted around his pop's flying kick; he continued the twist as Genma went flying past and gave him a kick in the back, propelling Genma straight down into the pool while giving Ranma the boost needed to make the next pole. Nabiki cheered from the sidelines.

"Way to go Ran-chan! Give him another for me!"

Ranma bowed to his audience and waited for Genma to surface. "Hey Pop! Givin' up already?"

At that, a large panda burst from the water and took a stance on a pole in the pool Genma had fallen into. Ranma stared in shock at the panda; it had a gi barely reaching around to its arms, and a pair of glasses dangled from an ear.

"P-p-p-pop?"

This time, Ranma _clearly_ heard the guide. "He fall in 'Spring of Drowned Panda'! Is tragic legend, very tragic, of panda who drown there two thousand year ago. Now, whoever fall there take body of panda!"

Ranma about fell over as he heard this.

Nabiki and Nodoka jumped up at the appearance of the panda. Nabiki saw Ranma was off balance as the Panda sprang at him.

"Ranma! Watch out!"

Ranma barely regained his balance in time to leap to another pole to avoid the angry panda. "Wait a sec'!"

The panda jumped again and Ranma tried to dodge. One furry paw made contact and sent Ranma hurling to another pool.

The guide had moved away to avoid the splash Ranma made landing in the pool. "Aiya! That 'Spring of Drowned Young Girl'! Is tragic legend, very tragic, of young girl who drown there one thousand five hundred year ago."

Ranma surfaced; he was feeling very strange - his balance was all wrong... as he got out of the pool, the top of his water-logged gi fell open slightly, and Ranma just screamed.

The guide nodded knowingly. "See? Whoever fall in spring take body of young girl."

Ranma continued to scream as Nabiki and Nodoka froze at the sight before them. Nabiki crumpled to the ground in a dead faint as Nodoka unwrapped the family sword.

"GENNNNMMMAAAAAA!!!!"

The guide looked on with sympathy as Nodoka chased after a terrified panda. "See? Very bad fall in spring. No one listen." He waited for the girl to quit screaming, then walked over. "Young sir, you want hot water. Hot water reverse curse." He waited to see if the girl was listening.

"H-h-hot water? It's the cure?"

He shook his head sadly. "No cure. Hot water only work until splash with cold water." He watched as the girl went to her pack and pulled out a cooking canister and a pan. "Come. I show you where normal water."

Nabiki slowly stirred. She looked around wildly a moment, then realized she was at their camp. Next to her, the fire burned. She remembered what happened earlier that day and looked around in shock before seeing Ranma. She let her breath out when she noticed he was damp, but otherwise normal.

Ranma was waiting for Nabiki to wake as he watched the fire. He thought about the day and wondered what he was going to do now. Suddenly, Nabiki had him wrapped in a very tight embrace.

"Oh Ranma! I had the worst nightmare! We were at Jusenkyo, and you and Uncle fought, and he became a panda, and you became a girl, and, and, ..."

It started to drizzle gently as Nabiki held onto Ranma; she completely lost track of what she was saying as the boy in her arms slowly changed into a girl. She felt the breasts under the arm she had wrapped around Ranma's chest and thought, 'That was no dream!' She crumpled again as Ranma caught her with a sigh.

Nabiki stirred again; this time she found herself in one of the tents they had set up. A lantern provided illumination while a steady rain fell outside. She looked up at the young girl kneeling across the tent from her; Nabiki could clearly see Auntie's features in her face.

"Ranma?"

The girl sighed and smiled at her. "Hey, Na-chan. I was worried about you there for awhile."

"What - how did - what happened?"

"I fell in the 'Spring of Drowned Young Girl'. Now, when I come in contact with cold water, I become - _this_." He - she gestured to herself. "Hot water will change me back, but not permanently." She looked down. "That's what happened when you came to last time; I forgot to watch the weather." She smiled sourly. "Funny, I used to love the rain."

Nabiki edged across the tent and carefully gathered the smaller girl in her arms. "Ran-chan, I'm so sorry."

"What for? You had nothin' to do with this." She tensed at Nabiki's hug for a moment, then relaxed, taking what small comfort the girl could offer.

"I know. I just feel really bad about this. I've always known your training was dangerous, I just never expected anything remotely like _this_." She decided to broach the next question carefully. "Um, Ran-chan? Are you sure you're actually a girl?"

Ranma nodded her head slowly. "I - I - I had to go a little while ago, and - and -". She was unable to continue as she started crying.

Nabiki slowly interpreted what Ranma had told her; she held the girl tightly and let her cry. "It's okay, Ran-chan. Everything will be fine." She knew that just the opposite was true, but that wasn't what the girl needed to hear right now.

Nabiki stroked the girl's red hair; she noticed it was a much lighter shade than Nodoka's. 'What am I thinking? Ranma's had his life completely shattered and I'm wondering about his hair.' She shook herself. "Has Auntie come back yet?"

Ranma had stopped crying, but wasn't ready to let go of Nabiki just yet. "No. She's still chasing the old fart around the mountain."

Nabiki tried to cheer the girl up. "Well, maybe when she gets back, we'll have a nice fur rug to put in the living room back home."

Ranma choked, then started to laugh a bit. Nabiki joined her. As their laughter died down, Ranma let go of Nabiki.

"Thanks, Na-chan. I really needed that."

"You're welcome Ran-chan. You might have this - condition - but you're still my best friend, and what else are friends for."

The rain had passed and Ranma was once more in boy-form when Nodoka finally returned dragging an unconscious panda behind her. The panda was shaved bald in a few places from close calls with Nodoka's sword. She noticed Ranma and dropped the panda; she wrapped the boy in a close embrace.

"Ranma! I'm so glad you're okay!" She started crying. "I'm sorry I left you alone, but when I saw what that - that - _idiot_ did, I just forgot everything but making him suffer."

Ranma let his mom hold him for a time, then gently disengaged himself. "It's all right, Mom. I understand completely. My turn now." He grabbed a pot of water that was boiling on the camp fire and poured it over the panda. It changed back to his father; once more human, the bruises Nodoka had inflicted became _painfully_ clear. The boiling water certainly must have felt bad on those bruises - Genma sat up practically screaming.

"_Dammit_, boy! What's the big idea pouring boiling water on -" He completely lost his train of thought as he realized he was no longer a panda. "_Yes_! I'm back!" He started to dance around.

Ranma just smiled as he watched his ecstatic father for a moment, then brought out a canteen of water. "Hey Pop! This should cool ya off a bit." His father stopped for a moment, looking at the boy. Ranma upended the canteen over his father's head. Genma fainted as he shifted back to panda-form.

Nodoka watched the two closely, then the impact of Ranma's actions caught up with her. "Ranma - if - if he changes, then -". She couldn't bring herself to continue.

Ranma slowly nodded. "Hot water reverses the curse, but only until -" He looked strained at this point. "- the cursed person - comes in contact with cold water again."

She gathered him into her arms again. "It's okay... you're still the same person inside. You're still my little boy."

Ranma was glad to hear this, but rolled his eyes at the reference. "Mommmm! I'm _not_ a little boy!"

Nodoka smiled at this. "You'll always be my little boy. Even when you're my age." She let go and gave him the once over. "At least the curse is reversible. I'd like to know more about this. Maybe the guide knows someone who can explain this more fully - maybe someone knows how to cure it."

Ranma gaped when he heard his mom. 'Of course! Thank Kami-sama for Mom... she _always_ knows what to do!' He smiled brightly. "Let's go! If there's a cure, I'm gonna get it, no matter _what_!"

****

They were only a few hours from the guide's hut when the rains came again. Ranma trudged along next to Nabiki in girl-form. Nabiki decided a little teasing might lighten the day.

"Cheer up, Ranma! You look awfully cute with your hair all wet and plastered like that."

That brought the expected wail. "I'm a _guy_, dammit! I don't _wanna_ look cute!"

Nodoka sighed and brought the group to a halt. "We'll make camp here. We can't really make time in this weather anyway."

The guide nodded in agreement, so they all started to set up the camp. If they could get in the tents and out of the rain, they might just regain their tempers.

Ranma had just started some water heating over a small cooking canister in the middle of the tent she shared with Nabiki when the other girl stood up to leave. Ranma looked at her. "What's up?"

"Just have to use the little girl's room." She gave Ranma a stern look. "Just keep the tent flap open so you don't suffocate from that fire."

Ranma rolled her eyes; just like Nabiki to state the obvious. She watched the girl leave, then went back to watching the water heat. It seemed to her that water now took at least ten times as long to heat as it did before her curse. The water was just about the right temperature, so she was understandably distracted and failed to notice a small black pig stick it's nose in the tent flap. It looked warily at the girl and _especially_ at the cooking pan; it knew most folks would see him as dinner. It was about to move back out of the tent when the girl poured some water over her head. The little pig's eyes bugged out as the girl changed; it charged up to the boy yelling, "Ranma! It's me, Ryoga!" Of course, what Ranma heard was, "Bweeeee! Bwee bwee bwee!

Ranma looked at the little pig, startled; it was wearing a yellow and black bandana and was trying to get to the pan of water he was holding. Ranma thought about it a moment: if the pig was thirsty, there was lots of water outside; he wasn't cooking food, so the pig couldn't think there was food in the pan. Ranma got a sneaking suspicion, probably due to his own current situation, and poured the rest of the water over the pig. He nearly jumped as he was suddenly sharing the tent with a naked Ryoga.

"Hey! Long time, no see, Ryoga! Excuse me if I don't give ya a hug." He gave the boy a smirk instead.

The boy seemed to be in shock; apparently, he hadn't known about hot water. He quickly found his voice.

"You don't know the _hell_ I've been through... at least people aren't trying to _eat_ you!"

"Just what are ya doin' _here_ anyway, Ryoga?"

"I followed you and - um -" he couldn't continue, getting very red in the face. He settled for a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"I can guess. What happened? How'd ya get cursed? Got mine trainin' with that good-for-nothin' idiot pop of mine."

Ryoga's face turned from red to livid. "I was following the trail along the mountain - it was rather narrow at that point. Then a panda wearing a gi came running up the other way and knocked me over the edge. When I landed in the pool below, I became the pig you saw." He shook a fist menacingly. "If I ever see that panda again, I'm gonna make a _rug_ out of it!"

Ranma paled. "A panda? Wearing a _gi_?"

"Yes! I swear! It was wearing a gi!"

Ranma sighed. "I can give you directions, but you're gonna have to wait in line. Me and Mom have first crack at that particular panda."

Ryoga gave him a strange look. Then he got all red-faced again. "Um, where is Na-chan... err, Nabiki?"

"She's probably on her way back to the tent right now. You gonna wait here and give her a big hug?" He gave the boy a grin.

Ryoga went from red to white. "What?! Like this?! She'd kill me! Quick, hide me!"

Ranma gave him a big smile. "Sure thing, buddy!" He poured his canteen over Ryoga, watching as he shrank down to a little black pig again.

Ryoga glared, as much as a pig can anyway, and just went, "BWEEEE!"

Nabiki chose just that moment to enter the tent. "Ranma! What is that pig doing here?"

Ranma picked Ryoga up by the bandana. "Oh, I was just thinking about cooking it for dinner."

Ryoga tried to bite him.

Nabiki was over in an instant and snatched the pig from his hands. "Don't you dare! Look at the poor little thing... see the bandana? He's probably somebody's pet." She hugged the little pig, which instantly went comatose. "Poor little thing. You got lost in the rain, didn't you?"

Ranma laughed. "Why don't you hang onto him, Na-chan. At least until we find his real owner."

Nabiki smiled happily. "What a great idea! Thanks Ranma. I think I'll call him P-chan."

****

The guide led a panda, a woman, and two young girls, one carrying a little black pig, up to the village square. There appeared to be some sort of tournament going on, as fighters vied to best each other on a large suspended log. Ranma moved to a position where she could watch the women fight.

"Here village of Joketsuzoku. Very famous, is 'Village of Chinese Amazons'."

Nodoka looked back at the guide. "And one of their elders may know more about the curses?"

He nodded. "Yes. Elders very knowledgeable. If any know, it be them." He walked over to one of the women warriors and began to speak rapidly in modified form of Mandarin; his speech was punctuated with frequent bows. Whoever these Amazons were, they were nothing if not respected.

Nodoka noticed and nodded. Yes, a village led by women would definitely be the right place to look. The woman the guide had been speaking to moved off and the guide came back over.

"She go find elder. If speak with you, she come to you here."

Nodoka nodded, gathered Nabiki up and moved next to Ranma. She wondered where Nabiki had gotten the little pig from; the girl was totally taken with her little pet, so Nodoka let her keep it. Pretty soon, she was pointing out the various faults and strengths of the fighters to both girls. The panda wandered off, completely ignored by the women.

They were absorbed in the match when a shriveled old woman of indeterminate age appeared behind them and off to one side, balanced on top of a walking stick. She looked them over carefully; one of the girls had no family resemblance, but the other could be a twin of the older woman if not for the age and lighter hair. She also held herself differently from the other two women. She moved up next to her.

"So you are the boy, yes?"

Ranma jumped three meters, landing in a ready stance. 'How did she sneak up on me like that?' She relaxed slightly and nodded.

Nodoka looked over the old woman. "Honorable elder, we were told that you may have some knowledge of the curse. We would very much appreciate anything you can tell us on the matter." It never hurt to be nice, especially to an elder who commanded a village of mighty warriors; while the fighters they had watched weren't up to Ranma's standard, they made up for it in numbers.

"I am Cologne, and you needn't bother with all that 'honorable elder' nonsense. Just let me watch my great-granddaughter win the tournament, then we'll talk."

Nodoka smiled. "Which one is she?"

"The one with the purple hair and using a set of bonbori. I've been instructing her for awhile now. A little more experience and she'll be the finest warrior here." She felt no small pride at this.

The women all watched as the girl expertly defeated a woman twice her size. The gathered Amazons all cheered their champion as she jumped off the log. The cheers abruptly died as they saw what was left of the prize; at a table set up just outside the tournament square, a feast had been laid out for the champion and any she picked to join her. A large panda was definitely _not_ on the list. Especially one with an appetite that matched his size.

The guide took one look and jumped in shock. "Honorable customer? What you do?"

Shortly, all involved parties stood around the panda; it looked like it wished to run, but a circle of spears kept it in one place.

Nodoka shook her head. "Genma, what have you got us into this time?"

Cologne spoke up at this point; the din died as everyone went quiet to allow the elder to be heard; she repeated herself in Japanese for the benefit of the others. "An outsider has taken the tournament prize unbidden. The penalty for such a thing is enslavement. I am sorry for you, but our laws are the only thing that keep us safe in these harsh surroundings."

Nodoka looked torn for a moment, then sighed. Leave it to her husband to get them in an even worse predicament than they were already in. "Isn't there anything that can be done?"

Cologne started to shake her head when Ranma spoke up.

"Well, if that's the prize for the winner, all I have to do is win, right?"

Everyone turned to look. Cologne looked the girl over.

"Yes, that would be the case. Are you so sure of yourself then?" The girl looked fit, but certainly no match for an Amazon. Still, she figured it would be interesting to see the skill of the outsider male in cursed form. Besides, the boy needed to feel he had done what he could to save his worthless father.

"No sweat." The girl shrugged nonchalantly and strode toward the suspended log.

Cologne spoke briefly to the assembled Amazons, then to her great-granddaughter. The girl argued briefly with the old woman, then walked back to the log.

Both fighters sprang up onto the log and got into a fighting stance.

Nodoka and Nabiki watched with some trepidation. They weren't worried about Ranma, but how the watching warriors would react to the outcome.

The Amazon girl once again readied her bonbori, then charged aggressively. Ranma waited until the last second; a snap kick caught the other girl under the chin sending her flying off the log. The warriors all stared in disbelief - their champion had been defeated in a single kick by an outsider!

Ranma hopped down from the log and smirked. "No problem." She was about to walk away when the girl came over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

The guide went white at this. "Aiya!! Is 'Kiss of Death'! We must flee!" He looked more than willing to follow his own advice when Cologne spoke clearly over the rising din.

"No, it isn't."

Everyone stopped cold at this proclamation; Ranma was in the middle of a kick, Nabiki had drawn her bokken, Nodoka had unsheathed the family sword, the panda was in the middle of a step towards the nearby woods, and the warriors were all in some state of preparation for a major battle. Everyone looked at the elder.

Cologne smiled as she hopped over to Ranma, pulled a clay jar from her robes, and poured it over the girl. As she changed back to a boy, a sound spread.

"Oooooooooo!"

The Amazon girl looked shocked, then angry, then slowly smiled. She jumped toward the boy, catching him in a tight embrace. She kissed him a bit more passionately than Nodoka, or Nabiki for that matter, cared for. She smiled again.

"Wo de airen!"

Ranma looked about to freak as Nabiki asked nobody in particular.

"Um, what just happened?"

A small group gathered in one of the houses that populated the village. In the main room, Nodoka and Nabiki knelt facing Cologne, Ranma, and the girl, who was introduced as Shampoo. She leaned into Ranma, holding fast to his arm. Genma sat behind Nodoka and Nabiki; he was still in panda-form and waving a sign asking if someone would _please_ get him some hot water. Needless to say, all present chose to ignore him steadfastly.

After listening to Cologne for a moment, Nabiki spoke out first.

"Husband?"

She fell over on her back, laughing harder than she could remember in the last couple of years; the pig in her arms squealed a bit. Ranma shot them an angry glare. Nodoka put a hand to her temple; it seemed her husband had quite a way of making her head ache. This had not changed in the last ten years.

After Cologne's explanation, the panda had jumped up and flipped his sign around. It now read 'What about the engagement? Soun will kill me!'

Ranma was the only one to see the sign. "What engagement? What the hell are ya talkin' about _now_, Pop?!"

The panda noticed Ranma's anger and dropped the sign. It opted instead to play with a beach ball; it held up another sign that read 'I'm just a cute little panda'.

Nodoka placed her other hand on her other temple. This was not her day. "The engagement Soun and your father arranged for you and one of Soun's daughters to join the two schools."

Nabiki choked on her laughter. "_What_?!"

Her little pet P-chan seemed nearly as upset. "_Bwee_?!"

Nodoka looked at the shocked girl. "It was arranged right after Ranma was born. Soun and Genma had always been talking of uniting the schools; your father had you and Kasumi already, so when Ranma was born, they figured an arranged marriage was the best way to unite the schools. It was tentatively decided later -" Nodoka looked a little uncomfortable, then continued. "- that Akane was the more likely match as she was the one being trained in the Tendo School of Anything Goes."

Cologne broke into the discussion. "So, the boy is already betrothed? That makes this situation more complicated. Our laws state that if an outsider male defeats an Amazon warrior, she must marry him. There is no consideration for the marital status of the male."

Nabiki added her own opinion. "This is ridiculous! My sisters and I aren't toys for your amusement! We shouldn't be forced into a marriage if we don't wish it!" P-chan squealed in agreement.

Cologne looked over hopefully. "Then son-in-law's engagement is not in fact settled?"

Nabiki looked over at Ranma, noticing the scared look he got at the term 'son-in-law'. She glanced at Nodoka and saw the look of disapproval she wore. She _knew_ that if her father had arranged this back when they were still babies, that the family honor was probably involved. Besides, for all she knew, her sister was looking forward to the engagement. She looked down and muttered, "Well, maybe, I guess."

Nodoka finally took over the discussion. "The honor of both families has been staked on this marriage. I don't think it will be dissolved so easily, but since it has not yet occurred, anything is possible."

Cologne sat quietly for a moment in thought. "Perhaps Shampoo may accompany you. I have wanted her to see more of the outside world that she might have a better perspective when she is eligible for leadership of the village. This would also allow her and son-in-law to get to know one another better." She gestured at Nabiki. "The girl's father obviously thought the same when he allowed her to accompany you. In the meantime, I will look into what is known about attempts to cure Jusenkyo curses."

Nabiki started at this, then thought about it. She had never before questioned her inclusion in the Saotome's family training trip. From the look on Ranma's face, she figured he was now considering the same thing she herself was. They'd have to talk about this when they could get some time apart from the adults.

P-chan also started to get ideas. He'd have to stick with the group longer than he expected. He knew what tentative meant; while it seemed Ranma was currently engaged to Nabiki's younger sister, it wasn't a sure thing - yet. He would have to be there to make sure the engagement stayed with the younger sister and to protect his Na-chan from that cad, Ranma.

Nodoka had continued the discussion with Cologne, not noticing the interplay between the children or Nabiki's pet. Ranma only turned his attention back to the discussion when something interesting came up.

"There are a people nearby known as 'The Musk'. For centuries, they have tossed animals into the 'Spring of Drowned Girl' and then locked them into their cursed form. They then took them as wives, hoping to have children with some of the abilities of the animals their wives once were."

Ranma turned green at the notion. "And exactly where are these 'Musk' people?"

Cologne looked at the boy in worry. "You do not want to know, boy. They are insular and powerful. It would be likely that you'd find yourself as one of their wives."

"Um, you misunderstood me. I need to know so my damned idiot pop doesn't drag us there for any more _training_."

Cologne and Nodoka laughed lightly at that.

Cologne gave him a smile. "Do not concern yourself about that. My great-granddaughter will lead you safely to the coast; she is familiar with all the hazards that should be avoided."

Shampoo nodded vigorously. "No let husband be any more danger. Is wife duty to protect." She wrapped him in a tender embrace.

Ranma went from green to red. He gave Nabiki an entreating look.

Nabiki huffed at the display across from her and turned away. "Don't look at me, Ranma. It's your _wife's_ duty, not mine."

Nodoka sighed. She was going to have to have a talk with both girls or this was going to be a _very_ long trip; much longer than just the miles themselves.

_End Chapter One_

More Author's Notes: In case you missed it, the difference in this time-line is that Nodoka would not accept the seppuku pledge to allow Genma to take Ranma on the ten-year training trip by himself; she would accompany them. This led to all sorts of changes: the delay in the trip allowed Genma to receive news of Soun's wife's death; this in turn leads to a meeting of the two families where it is tentatively decided that Akane would be Ranma's fiancée. Nodoka discovers that Soun may not be able to care for all three girls properly with his wife's passing, so it is decided that Nabiki will accompany the Saotomes under Nodoka's care. This first chapter has to do quite a bit of setup, so it really doesn't get going until the end. In the next chapter, the Saotomes and their charges return to Nerima.

Chapter One Omake Scenes - these are all currently my own ideas.

~~~~

Nodoka started to protest, then held her reply, looking torn. She wasn't about to let Genma take her son, but Ranma would need training to become the man she wanted him to be; at the same time, she couldn't just run off and leave Soun with a daughter in danger of losing her mental health.

She slowly smiled and faced Genma. "I know what I must do, husband. I am divorcing you and keeping Ranma."

Genma looked mad enough to eat nails. "_What_! But then how will he become the 'Man Among Men' you're always harping about?"

She grinned evilly. "Simple. We'll stay here and Soun will teach him and Akane while I take care of the home."

Soun burst out crying. "Isn't it wonderful, Genma? The houses will finally be united!"

~~~~

Oh well, as the saying goes, 'If you're thrown from the horse, the best thing to do is get right back on it.' He couldn't get enough of the fish sausages; the manual called for them, but they were just so expensive. The dried sardines he had gotten would probably do just as well. He nodded to himself as he decided on his course of action. He grabbed the boy from his spot in the corner, wrapped him up again, and tossed him down into the cellar. After the dried sardines failed, he felt sure the salted sardines would work. As the boy once more extricated himself from the cellar, Genma checked him out.

"Boy? Are you okay?" He held out a cat toward him experimentally.

Ranma seemed to cringe a second, then slowly straightened. "Yeah, Pop. I'm fine."

Nabiki stormed over. "You idiot! You had me worried!" She quickly wrapped the boy in fish cakes, then kicked him in the head; he fell through the trap door down into the cellar.

Genma sweated as he watched the children. "Uh oh." This didn't bode well for him.

~~~~

"Well, I suggest you get warmed up _real quick_."

The glint in her eyes made Ranma drop his trademark smirk; this was not going to be a pleasant session. Ranma had nearly had a heart attack that morning when Nodoka mentioned that Nabiki was about ready to try a real sword. She might be, but one look at the ink on him convinced him that he sure wasn't. At thirteen, Nabiki had the edge of puberty on her side, and she made sure he remembered that. As Ranma faced off against her once more, he wished he had known his mom planned on allowing her to use the family sword - he probably wouldn't have tried peeping on her in the bath. As it was now, he was dead meat.

~~~~

"Ran-chan, I packed you a lunch." She handed the boy a bento. "I know how bad your school is at lunch-time and I'd rather you didn't have any more trouble." She looked over at Ryoga. "I'm sorry about the fight the other day. 'Little brother' is sometimes just too full of himself."

Ranma got indignant. "Hey! I'm not little and I'm not your brother!" He made no attempt to dispute the rest; if you're good, it's not showing off.

Ryoga finally broke out of his daze and whispered to Nabiki. "I've seen him in the locker room. Trust me - he's definitely _little_."

Nabiki gave him a smirk. "I know. Why do you think I'm always calling him '_little_ brother'?"

~~~~

Ranma surfaced; he was feeling very strange - his balance was all wrong... as he got out of the pool, the top of his water-logged gi fell open slightly, and Ranma just screamed.

The guide nodded knowingly. "See? Whoever fall in spring take body of young girl."

Ranma continued to scream as Nabiki and Nodoka froze at the sight before them. Nabiki crumpled to the ground in a dead faint as Nodoka ran over and wrapped Ranma in a big hug. She quit screaming as she heard her mom.

"Oh thank Kami-sama! I've finally got the daughter I always wanted! No more martial arts for my little girl."

Ranma started to scream again.

Nodoka just dragged the screaming girl behind her. "We've got a find a town so I can get you some proper clothes. You'll look so _cute_ in a mini-skirt!"

~~~~

Ranma paled. "A panda? Wearing a _gi_?"

"Yes! I swear! It was wearing a gi!"

Ranma sighed. "I can give you directions, but you're gonna have to wait in line. Me and Mom have first crack at that particular panda."

Ryoga gave him a strange look. Then he got all red-faced again. "Um, could you change back, Ranma? I swear, you were one damn hot chick! _Much_ better looking than Nabiki."

A blue glow erupted from Ranma. A second later, Ryoga was launched butt first for parts unknown.

~~~~~

Ranma hopped down from the log and smirked. "No problem." She was about to walk away when the girl came over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

The guide went white at this. "Aiya!! Is 'Kiss of Death'! We must flee!" He looked more than willing to follow his own advice when Cologne spoke clearly over the rising din.

"No, it isn't."

Everyone stopped cold at this proclamation; Ranma was in the middle of a kick, Nabiki had drawn her bokken, Nodoka had unsheathed the family sword, the panda was in the middle of a step towards the nearby woods, and the warriors were all in some state of preparation for a major battle. Everyone looked at the elder.

Cologne smiled. "Shampoo just likes girls." A sound spread.

"Oooooooooo!"

Nodoka sweated then turned to Cologne. "Perhaps it's best we not mention Ranma's little secret to her then."

Cologne nodded. "That would be best."

~~~~

End Chapter One Omake Scenes 


	2. Home Is Where The Refrigerator Is

A Ranma 1/2 alternate universe mini-series. A PG rating for language and situations.

This story and a few others can be found on my web page at  
http://www.geocities.com/jlfenton65/  
jlfenton65@yahoo.com  
  
Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. and was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  
This story is of my own derivation and is not intended for commercial purposes, so please don't sue me.  


Author's Notes: Most folks know the quote is "Home is where the heart is." I can tell you from experience that this is _completely_ false. My family moved all the time due to my dad's military career, and I can assure you that no matter where your heart is, until the refrigerator is plugged in and filled with food, it is NOT home. Home is where you can walk in, stand in front of the refrigerator for ten minutes, then finally drink from the carton. Sure, Mom doesn't like it, but try that anywhere else and you'll get more than a mild rebuke. That is what truly tells one that they are home.

Last Chapter: In chapter one, Nodoka would not accept the seppuku pledge to allow Genma to take Ranma on the ten-year training trip by himself; she would accompany them. This led to all sorts of changes: the delay in the trip allowed Genma to receive news of Soun's wife's death; this in turn leads to a meeting of the two families where it is tentatively decided that Akane would be Ranma's fiancée. Nodoka discovers that Soun may not be able to care for all three girls properly with his wife's passing, so it is decided that Nabiki will accompany the Saotomes under Nodoka's care. Ranma and Nabiki travel and train, making friends and enemies. Finally, it is time to return to Nerima.

Together

Chapter 2: Home Is Where The Refrigerator Is

by Joe Fenton

Soun Tendo walked back into his home after retrieving the mail. He set aside the bills, then finally noticed the sender on one of the remaining letters. His hands shook as he opened the latest letter from his middle daughter. Nabiki wrote her family whenever she got the chance; it was much more difficult for her to get any replies due to the nomadic life a training trip entailed. Tears ran down his cheek as he read through the text; one sentence stood out among all the others.

'We are on our way back; I can't wait to finally be with you all again.'

He had to tell his other girls. "Kasumi! Akane!" Where were those girls?

He found Kasumi in the kitchen, working on dinner. "Kasumi? Can you find Akane and bring her to the living room? I have great news!"

His eldest daughter nodded, turned down the heat on a couple of the pans, then moved past him. She knew where Akane could usually be found this time of day. She headed for the practice hall; she found her sister just outside, preparing to demolish a stack of concrete blocks. She refrained from interrupting the girl's concentration.

"Hyaahh!" With a sure thrust, Akane shattered the blocks. "Man, this is hardly a work-out. I need to find a good sparring partner." She turned to Kasumi. "What's up?"

"Daddy has something to tell us."

She looked at the broken blocks. "Okay, I'll just clean this up then be right in."

Kasumi nodded and went back inside.

****

Soun knelt by the low table in the middle of the room. A fan off to one side kept the air circulating. Across the table from him, his two daughters knelt. Akane helped herself to a chip from the bowl Kasumi had brought out for them along with drinks.

"Girls, your sister is coming home!" Soun was ready to burst into tears again just thinking about seeing his little girl after so many years.

Akane held the chip. "Really? Wow!" She tried to remember her older sister. She had a vague memory of a brown haired girl, but couldn't bring anything else to mind.

"That's _wonderful_! Are the Saotomes coming too?" Kasumi was overjoyed; she remembered her younger sister better than Akane, being nine when Nabiki had left with the Saotomes. She had missed Nabiki considerably the first year she had been gone. Her mind turned to practical matters. "I'll have to prepare her room; if the Saotomes are also staying, I'll have to prepare the guest room as well. Oh! I'll need to go to the market; we're running low on a few things."

Soun smiled at his eldest daughter; he was so proud of her. She had taken over the household duties after her mother had died. With one less member to care for and a little help from him and Akane, Kasumi had managed to maintain the house and keep her school work up. She was now attending the local junior college while working part-time at a nearby clinic; this brought in a little extra money to help defray the cost of her schooling as well as giving her access to various books about medicine. It also allowed her to see her fiancé, the young Dr. Tofu Ono who worked there.

It also meant that Kasumi didn't have as much time to spend with her family. It was just as well that Kasumi was able to at least teach Akane the fundamentals of cooking. Soun still shuddered when he remembered some of her early attempts; it was one of the things that had brought them into contact with Kasumi's future fiancé all too often. He knew that sometimes Kasumi felt guilty about not being able to spend more time at home, but he and Akane reassured her whenever they could. He knew that guilty feeling all too well; he had sent his middle daughter off with his best friend's family years back because he thought it was best for her. It didn't mean that he didn't miss her desperately, wondering if it had really been the right thing to do. Her letters home seemed to indicate she was well, and he clung to those letters when the guilt threatened to overwhelm him.

With the return of the Saotomes, Genma and Ranma would be able to assist in the dojo; Akane made an able assistant, but it took more than one master to run a full complement of classes. This would generate enough money that Kasumi could start attending at a good university full time. He had no doubts that Nodoka could handle the extra house work that would result from the extra people and the departure of his eldest daughter. He turned his attention back to his girls.

"Yes, the Saotomes are coming too, but you needn't handle it all yourself; Akane and I can take care of the rooms. We'll leave the shopping to you as you know what is needed."

Akane was quick on the uptake. "Yeah. It's not a problem. Cleaning is the one thing I can actually do best as far as housework goes." She had plenty of practice between the house and the dojo. As an assistant to her father, as well as the most advanced student, it was her responsibility to straighten up after the small classes her father still taught after school.

Kasumi smiled slightly. "It'll be nice to see little Ranma again."

Akane gave her a blank look. "Who?"

Kasumi smiled at her. "You probably don't remember too well. Little boy, black hair in a pony-tail, you chased him around the yard with a board..."

"Oh yeah! Him. You're right, I _don't_ remember too well. I wouldn't have remembered at all if you hadn't reminded me of our fight. He got me mad for some reason I can't recall." She tried to bring more details to mind, but gave it up; it had just been too long. She had a sip from her drink.

Soun laughed as he remembered the incident in question. "Well, I'm sure you'll both get along much better now that you're older. After all, I can't my daughter fighting with her fiancé when students are around."

Akane choked on her drink; Kasumi gave her a few pats on the back until she got her breath back.

"_Fiancé_?!"

Soun nodded, oblivious to the look Akane was giving him. "Of course. Ranma's father and I arranged it when you two were born. With you two married and running the dojo, our houses will be united and the family legacy assured."

Kasumi beamed at her sister. "Oh! Isn't it wonderful?"

"Kasumi!" She looked at her happy sister and couldn't say it. She rounded on her father instead. "There is _no way_ I'm marrying some - some - _boy_! I don't even know what he's like! What if he's some kind of pervert?"

Soun frowned at his youngest child. "I know you had problems with some boys at your previous school, but that's no reason to think the worst of him. Why, from what Nabiki has written, Ranma is one of the finest young men you could hope to meet."

Kasumi gave her a reproving look. "You'd know that if you had read your sister's letters. At least wait until you meet the boy before judging him."

Akane rolled her eyes. "Fine! But if Nabiki thinks he's so great and wonderful, maybe _she_ should be the one to marry him."

****

Sunday afternoon found many folks out enjoying the day in Nerima. It wasn't too unusual to see families walking down the street, sometimes stopping at the shops or the street vendors. It _was_ unusual to see a beautiful, dignified woman walking next to a giant panda carrying a huge pack, followed by three young girls. The girls weren't in themselves unusual either, but one held a small black pig, and another held the arm of the last, who also carried a huge pack. Then there was the bizarre fact that the pig and the purple-haired girl seemed to have identical expressions of contented happiness, while the other two girls had identical expressions of irritation.

The brown-haired girl expressed her irritation. "Ranma! How can you let her do that when you're engaged to my sister? Haven't you any sense of decency?"

That definitely warranted another look from the various bystanders.

The red-haired girl in question vented her own irritation. "You think I like this? Even Mom can't get her to stop! And I'm not marrying your sister! I don't even _know_ the girl! What if she's ugly? Or stupid?"

Nabiki stopped in the street, _exceedingly_ angry. "You will not call my sister stupid and ugly!" She pulled out a bokken and stabbed at the red-head.

Ranma tried dodging; it was quite an effort with Shampoo clinging to her arm. "Hey! Watch it! I only said 'what if!'"

There was quite a crowd watching by this point.

Shampoo blocked a slice that would have actually connected with Ranma's head. "Sister, you will leave my husband alone!" Shampoo's Japanese had improved considerably with Nodoka's help in the month it had taken to reach Nerima.

Half the crowd fell on their faces.

Ranma tried to pry loose her arm. "I'm not your husband!" She faced the brown-haired girl. "And I'm not gonna marry no one, at least not now!"

There was much head nodding in the crowd. This girl seemed to be the only one with a sense of propriety.

The older woman was holding a hand to one temple. It had been a very _very_ long trip.

The panda decided enough was enough. He faced the crowds on either side. "GRRR! OWRRR!"

They wisely decided to mind their own business.

Nodoka spoke to the three girls. "Come along now. Quit this juvenile behavior and act like proper young girls."

That got the standard outburst from Ranma. "I ain't no girl! I'm a _guy_, dammit!"

The number of face-faults that occurred indicated that at least a few people hadn't yet given up on the unexpected entertainment.

Nodoka spoke to her child sternly. "Ranma! You will watch your language! I will not have my son speaking like a coarse ruffian. Now, you will meet your fiancée and you will be polite to her and her family. This is a matter of family honor and you will not bring shame to our family!"

The three girls followed the adults once more. The brown-haired girl still shooting the red-haired girl dark looks, the red-haired girl muttering under her breath, and the purple-haired girl looking contented and happy once again.

****

Soun and Akane knelt on one side of the low table in the living room. Across from them knelt Kasumi and her fiancé, Dr. Ono.

Tofu addressed his future father-in-law. "Kasumi tells me her sister Nabiki is returning soon. You must be anxious to see her again."

Soun smiled happily. "Yes. And my old friend and his family are with her. Akane will finally meet her fiancé."

Akane turned red and gave him a low growl. "Daaadddy!" She had let go of her crush on the doctor after he became engaged to her sister, but still wished to make as good an impression as possible when he was around.

He laughed gently at her embarrassment. "Don't worry. I'm sure they're not going to make you get married right away."

She looked down in mild anger. "You don't know Daddy very well. If he thought he could get away with it, he'd have a priest waiting here for them to arrive."

Kasumi and Tofu laughed. Kasumi looked at her little sister.

"Now Akane, you know you're exaggerating."

"Not by much." Akane mutter under her breath.

Just then, a commotion was heard at the front entrance.

Kasumi stood. "Oh! That may be them!"

Soun stood and moved quickly toward the entry way. "Yes, it must be! Nabiki! Saotome! Is it you?" Much more quickly, he came running back to the living room followed by a giant panda. A young feminine voice was heard behind the panda.

"Yo, Pop! You're scarin' 'em spitless! Let the human folks past, you big, hairy oaf!"

A more adult feminine voice was also heard from behind the panda.

"Ranma! What have I told you about your language? It's not proper for young girls to talk that way. Now, while we are in another's home, you will show your father some respect." Then in a more resigned voice. "Husband, it would perhaps be best to wait to greet your old friend until after you've had the opportunity to change."

The panda moved to the side, allowing an adult woman and three young girls to move into the living room.

Soun was uncertain exactly what to do when the brown-haired girl made it all irrelevant. She ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"_Daddy_!!"

He looked the girl over; tears started to run down his cheeks. "Nabiki? Oh, Nabiki! You don't know how much I've missed you!" He hugged her back.

The girl spoke from against his chest. "Of course I do. Exactly as much as I have missed you." She had tears running down her cheeks as well.

Soun smiled at Nodoka. "Nodoka, you're looking well. Thank you for looking after my little girl." He looked at the others. "But, where is Genma? And Ranma?"

Nodoka looked off to the side a moment, then gave the red-haired girl a little push forward. The girl was obviously nervous and a little withdrawn. She gave Nodoka a small frown, then bowed to Soun.

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

There was a small crash as Akane fell over from her position behind the table. She stood up and walked over to the red-head, her focus on the other girl's chest. She gave it an experimental poke, then gave a small eep.

"Um, I know it's been ten years since we last met, but... weren't you a _boy_?"

The girl gave her an angry glare. "I _am_ a boy, dammit!"

Nodoka just sighed. "Ranma, I don't have to remind you about your language again, do I?"

The girl gritted her teeth and squeezed out tight reply. "No."

Akane moved over to her father and sister. "Daddy, why did you send our sister off with these people?"

He gave her a strained look. "They weren't like this then! Really!"

Nabiki sighed and stepped away from her father. She looked over to Kasumi. "Kasumi?" Seeing her nod, she continued. "Can you please get us some hot and cold water?"

Kasumi came over and gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're home little sister." She let her go and moved towards the kitchen. "I'll be right back." She returned moments later with a kettle she had put on for tea, and a pitcher of cold water. She handed them to Nabiki.

Nodoka started the explanation. "A little more than a month ago, Genma took us to some training ground in China called Jusenkyo."

The panda held up a sign. 'The _legendary_ training ground Jusenkyo.' He flipped it around. 'I wouldn't have gone to just _any_ old training ground.'

The others stared for a moment. Akane whispered softly.

"How's he do that?"

Nodoka held a hand to her temple. This was going to be a bad one. "The _legendary_ training ground Jusenkyo, also known as the 'Training Ground of Accursed Springs.' What Genma failed to find out was that anyone who fell into one of the pools there was cursed to take the body of whatever creature drowned there when exposed to cold water. Hot water temporarily reverses the curse."

At this, Nabiki poured some water from the kettle over the panda. Before everyone's eyes, it became a slightly steaming older man.

"Ahhhhhh! It doesn't need to be _that_ hot!"

Nabiki just smiled widely at him. "Oops!"

Soun took the man's hand and slapped him on the back. "Genma, old friend. It _is_ you! I'm so glad you're okay."

"Well..."

Genma didn't have the chance to finish what he was saying as Nabiki poured some cold water from the pitcher over his head. "This should cool you off, _Uncle_."

The panda held up a sign as he rounded on her. 'That was totally uncalled for, young lady.'

Akane took the kettle from Nabiki and approached Ranma. "So hot water turns you into a boy, huh?" She tried to pour the kettle over the girl's head, but she dodged the water.

"Hot water! Not boiling!"

Nabiki sighed and took the kettle from her sister. She poured a little of the water from the pitcher into the kettle and swirled it around before handing it to Ranma. Ranma poured some of the water over her head. The others gaped again as the girl changed into a black-haired boy, the chest shrinking as he gained a few inches in height.

"Astounding." Tofu finally found his voice. "You say this is a curse? Real magic?"

Ranma nodded. "Unfortunately."

Nodoka finally tried to get things back to normal. She stepped over to Tofu. "I'm afraid we haven't been introduced."

Soun looked embarrassed. "Sorry. This is Kasumi's fiancé, Dr. Tofu Ono."

Where Nabiki would have previously just immediately congratulated her sister, after finding out about the arranged marriage for her younger sister, she looked first to see how Kasumi felt about it. The slight flush on Kasumi's cheeks, the smile Tofu gave her, and the badly concealed jealousy in Akane's eyes told her this was not an arranged marriage, or at least not an unwanted engagement. Nabiki smiled and gave Kasumi a hug. "Oh Kasumi! I'm so happy for you! And a doctor too."

Kasumi turned red in embarrassment. She turned to the final member of the Saotome party. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

Shampoo bowed. "It is not a problem. I am Ranma's wife, Shampoo."

The word was amplified by the number of voices saying it together. "_WIFE_?!"

Nodoka just rubbed her temples. "Due to a - problem - Genma got himself into, Ranma had to fight Shampoo; he defeated her. Unfortunately, Shampoo's people are Amazons, and their law is that if an outside male defeats an Amazon woman, she must marry him." She forestalled any outbursts. "They are _not_ married at this point. They are not married until Ranma acknowledges the marriage, which he has not done."

Akane turned to her father. "Daddy, there is _no way_ I am marrying this _pervert_!"

Shampoo faced off against her. "You will not call my husband a pervert!"

Akane turned to her father again. "Daaaadddddy!"

He gave her a stern look. "Akane, this is a matter of family honor. Saotome and I arranged this marriage to unite the houses and preserve the family legacy. There is no choice in the matter. Nodoka says the boy is not married, and since his curse is not his fault and reversible, I do not see any reason not to continue the engagement."

Akane looked ready to fight him, then burst into tears and ran up the stairs to her room.

Kasumi sighed as she her her sister's door slam. "I'll go speak with her."

Nabiki put up a hand. "Let me. I haven't had a chance to talk with her in ten years. Please, I'd like to talk with my sister."

Kasumi smiled and nodded. She watched her sister go up the stairs, then moved back by her fiancé. He gave her a quick hug.

The panda gave a loud growl to get someone's attention. He was holding another sign. 'Can someone... anyone _please_ get me some hot water!'

Soun stared at his old friend a moment, then turned gray. "Nabiki! My little girl... she isn't... she didn't..."

Nodoka placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "No, Nabiki and I are just fine. Ranma and Genma were the ones training there and were the only ones cursed."

Ranma choked, then looked away quickly. There wasn't any need to mention Ryoga; the little pig had gotten lost as they arrived at the Tendo residence anyway. With Ryoga's sense of direction, he suspected it would be some time before he found his way back. Ranma had spent several minutes comforting Nabiki, trying to reassure her that her pet would be okay before Nodoka had finally made them all enter the compound. Only Nabiki's desire to see her family again kept her from rushing off to look for P-chan.

****

Nabiki stopped before the bedroom with a duck embossed with the name 'Akane' on the door. She knocked lightly. "Akane? Can we talk?"

Akane opened the door. She waved Nabiki in, then closed the door. Nabiki sat in the chair in front of the desk while Akane sat on her bed.

She gave Nabiki an angry glare. "I'm not marrying that jerk!"

Nabiki sighed. "That's not why I came up here." She moved to the bed next to Akane. "It's been ten years - I miss my little sister. I was hoping we could do something to get reacquainted. This engagement thing can be dealt with later."

Akane smiled and hugged her. "I'm sorry! Here you are home again for the first time in ten years and I bite your head off over something that isn't even your fault." She looked Nabiki over, noticing the fine muscle tone for the first time. "Do you do any martial arts?"

Nabiki smiled genuinely. "Being with the Saotomes for ten years, how could I not? Auntie's been instructing me in kenjutsu for the last six years, so I'm pretty handy with a blade." She waved a hand dismissively. "Uncle thinks weapons are a handicap, but he has me spar with Ranma when he isn't doing anything else." Her smile turned slightly evil. "I have to remind little brother every now and then that you can't dismiss a weapon user lightly."

Akane stood. "Daddy's trained me to use the bo staff and the family yari." She extended a hand. "Shall we continue our talk in the dojo?"

Nabiki accepted the hand up, then gestured for her to lead the way.

****

Akane took a bo staff from the rack along one wall of the dojo. She moved to the center of the training hall where Nabiki waited with her bokken. Ranma and Shampoo sat next to the wall near the sliding doors.

Nabiki watched Akane approach. They bowed and faced off. Nabiki noticed Akane held the staff close to her side. As she expected, Akane launched into a sweeping pattern that moved from high to low... classic jumonju school of spear. Nabiki had seen it at a dozen different dojos on their trip. She deflected several strikes with the back of her bokken and backed off.

Akane grinned. "That was pretty good, but I thought kenjutsu didn't specifically teach defense."

Nabiki shrugged. "It doesn't. Ranma used to take advantage of that in our spars, but decided to help me out there when I got hurt in a match at a dojo we stopped at a few years back." She made a set of strikes Akane was hard pressed to parry. "Since most defense in kenjutsu depends on improvised parries, Ranma helped me out with a few speed training exercises."

Akane used the longer reach of the bo staff to keep Nabiki at a distance. "I noticed. I don't think I've seen anyone that fast with a bokken."

Nabiki smiled and leapt in close. A quick thrust and twist left Akane without her staff. "I have to be quick to keep up with Ranma. If you think _I'm_ fast, you don't _even_ want to see him."

Akane grabbed Nabiki's arm at the wrist and deftly tossed her. Nabiki rolled to her feet.

Nabiki backed off. "That's enough for me!" She laughed good-naturedly. "I don't do hand-to-hand beyond self-defense. You'll have to continue this dance with the master." She glanced back at where Ranma was sitting. "Your turn, Ranma."

Shampoo frowned. "You aren't Amazons, right?"

Akane looked puzzled. "What would that have to do with my fighting Ranma?"

Nabiki laughed. "She's worried that if Ranma won, you'd _have_ to marry him."

Akane flared in anger. "I'm _not_ going to marry him!"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Like I'd marry you in the first place." He looked over at Shampoo as he stood. "No, we don't do things that way here in Japan."

Shampoo looked relieved. "That's good. I have no need of a co-wife at this point."

Ranma stumbled and almost fell as Akane glowered. He crossed the room to stand opposite the glaring girl. He sighed and shook his head. His only memories of the girl was of her pounding him on the head with a board. He had the sinking feeling that things hadn't changed in the least since then.

Nabiki moved off to the side. She waited until Akane moved into a basic kenpo stance. She knew Ranma would just stand there like normal. Given her fight against her sister, Nabiki knew Ranma would have to treat this a little more seriously than his normal fights.

"Ready - _fight_!"

Akane stuck to straight kenpo as Ranma dodged the various kicks and punches. She nodded, then backed off.

"Daddy and I teach kenpo classes evenings and weekends. I can see that you weren't just checking out the scenery on your training trip." She grinned - this was the best fight she'd had since she passed Tatewaki's level. "Let's move on to our school of fighting."

Akane sifted to a stance quite similar to Ranma's. Ranma grinned as he noticed. It had been boring fighting at most dojos. They mostly used kenpo or some other standard style. Some mixed a couple styles, but none came close to the mix that defined the School of Indiscriminate Grappling. Their training trip had managed to expose Ranma to many more styles than he would have normally learned. He was looking forward to seeing what Akane had learned here in Tokyo.

Akane lashed out in a series of feints flowing into a strike that Ranma actually had to block. Akane and Ranma had matching smiles as they traded blows, neither taking a definitive lead in the fight. Akane completed a flip with a full rotation and disengaged once again.

She gave him a questioning look. "You're not fighting your best."

Ranma shrugged. "It's the best fight I've had in months. I was just trying to enjoy myself while I can."

Akane leaped back in with a flurry of strikes. Ranma blocked all of them, then counterattacked. This time, he didn't hold back. Akane was forced on the defensive almost immediately. She dodged everything she could, and tried to block everything she couldn't, but more and more blows were getting through. Ranma stopped with his foot a hairs breath from the bridge of her nose. She bowed as she conceded the match.

Ranma bowed. "You're really good! I haven't had to fight at that level against anyone but Pop for some time."

Akane smiled at the praise. She still wasn't going to marry him, but it looked like she would finally have someone above her level with whom she could spar.

Shampoo frowned at the pair. She knew that fighting together could lead to them getting along better. "You would make a good Amazon. I look forward to trying my skills against you." Shampoo figured she would stick with the pair. She could make sure nothing happened between them, _and_ she could learn some more of this art that allowed Ranma to fight like he did.

Ranma looked between the pair, sure more was being said that he wasn't picking up. "As long as it's just sparring. I don't want you giving anyone the 'Kiss of Death' while you're here."

Akane looked shocked. "Kiss of Death?!"

Nabiki nodded. "If a male outsider defeats an Amazon, she has to give him the 'Kiss of Marriage' and marry him, but if a female outsider defeats her - outside of a friendly match - she has to give her the 'Kiss of Death,' hunt her down, and kill her."

Akane backed off a few steps. "That's pretty harsh."

Shampoo gave her a firm look. "I come from a pretty harsh region of China. These laws have kept us alive and independent for more than three thousand years."

"But they have also limited your ability to deal with outsiders."

The teens all turned to see Nodoka at the door.

She continued. "Your people will need to come up with other ways to deal with outsiders now that travel is so much easier. You can't fight everyone who will turn up at your village. There is _always_ someone better out there."

Shampoo nodded after a moment. "That is part of the reason Great-Grandmother sent me along with you."

Ranma waited a second before asking. "What's up?"

Nodoka put on a stern look. "It's getting close to dinner time. You all need to get cleaned up."

Nabiki smiled. At last - a _real_ bath! No more streams and lakes. No more crowed public baths. She turned to Ranma. "You go first, and be quick about it! I want a good soak before dinner."

Ranma rolled his eyes and left grumbling.

Akane watched him go, then turned to her sister. "Mind a little company?"

Nabiki smiled. "Of course not. I was hoping we could talk some more." She grabbed Shampoo's arm as the Amazon turned to leave. "Where are you going?" She knew full well what the answer would be.

"I'm going to join Ranma."

Akane and Nabiki exchanged a look while Nodoka shook her head.

Nodoka addressed the girl. "You are not married to Ranma yet, and such an action would cause a disturbance to this home. You'll bathe with Akane and Nabiki."

Shampoo gave a frustrated sigh. "Yes Mother."

Akane and Nabiki exchanged another look, then headed for the door.

Akane took the lead and motioned to the other girls. "Come on. We can get ready in my room. I have plenty of bath supplies. We'll wait until Ranma finishes."

Nodoka just sighed as the three moved into the house. Why did things have to be so complicated?

****

Ranma, Nabiki, and Shampoo were up early the next morning. They had to get to the school early to fill out the paperwork and take placement exams. They were going to the nearby high school. Curiously, Akane wasn't.

Akane was dressed in a more formal looking school uniform and grumbling about having to leave early everyday to go across the district.

Nabiki finally had to ask. "Why don't you go to Furinkan?"

Akane looked angry for a moment before getting control over her emotions. "I _used_ to go to Furinkan... for about two weeks. One of the juniors decided we were meant to be together and started bugging me for a date. I wanted nothing to do with him, so he proclaimed that no one could date me unless they defeated me in combat."

Shampoo gave Ranma an accusing look. "I thought you said things weren't done this way in Japan?"

Ranma gave her a bewildered shrug. "They aren't... at least I thought they weren't."

Akane glared at the pair. "They _aren't_! This jerk just didn't want anyone else to date me if he couldn't!" She sighed. "So anyway, every morning after that, about twenty to thirty boys would attack me when I got to school."

Shampoo shook her head. "No - that isn't like our way... challenges must be made individually. Attacking in a group is cowardly and shameful. An Amazon would be sure to put those men in their place."

Akane frowned. "I did! But these idiots just wouldn't give up. I finally lost my temper and really hurt a few of them." She looked down. "When Daddy found out what had been going on, he made a big fuss, so they transferred me to a girls' school a ways from here. Now I have to leave early every morning to get to school on time."

Ranma nodded in sympathy. "At least you're away from those jerks."

Akane looked ready to cry. "That's just the thing - the idiot who _started_ this whole mess has a sister who attends the same school. She's just as crazy, _and_ in my class! Not to mention, Kuno _still_ comes over after school to pester me while claiming he's just looking after his sister." She gave a long-suffering sigh and left.

Ranma shook his head. "Man! I'm glad I don't have her problems!"

Nabiki patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry little brother. I'm sure you'll create plenty of your own before the week is over."

Ranma glared at her. "I hope this Kuno jerk asks you out."

Nabiki gave him a big smile. "Maybe I'd go out with him." She smiled wider as Ranma sputtered. "Or maybe I'd tell him about this cute red-head who's just _dying_ to go out with him."

Nodoka felt it time to step in before Ranma exploded. "Don't tease about his curse Nabiki. It's below your station, not to mention cruel. You know how Ranma feels about his curse."

Nabiki looked chagrined. "Sorry Ranma." She thought about it a moment. "What are we going to do about Ranma's curse at school? He can't exactly use the boy's facilities now, can he?"

Nodoka thought about it. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be able to handle this."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "This is the same school that let twenty to thirty guys fight Akane every morning for a couple weeks." He made sure the sarcasm was easily heard. "I'm _sure_ they'll handle it _just_ fine."

Nodoka frowned at her son's tone, but couldn't dispute his words.

Nabiki decided she could get away with a little more teasing. "Well, you could always go to Akane's girls' school."

Nodoka closed her eyes. She could feel the migraine building.

****

The secretary looked over the results of the placement tests. She glanced at Nodoka in approval. "For having missed as much school as they have, Ranma and Nabiki did quite well. They easily qualify for their present grade levels."

Nodoka smiled in pride. "Yes. I made sure that both understood the value of a good education. We made the best of whatever resources were on hand wherever we stopped."

The secretary flipped back a few pages. "Yes. They both did exceptionally well on foreign languages and Japanese and World History." She shuffled the papers. "That Chinese national also scored fairly well." She frowned. "Despite her atrocious accent, her language scores were fairly high. With her educational visa, she'll be accepted to the sophomore class."

Nodoka frowned at the woman's obvious bias, but let it slide. Nothing she could say would make it easier at the school for Shampoo. She decided it was time to broach Ranma's problem. "There is a problem that must be dealt with concerning my son."

The other lady frowned. "Oh? He's not a trouble-maker or something, is he? We don't tolerate that here."

Nodoka rolled her eyes. The lady obviously had no idea what the school was actually like. Nodoka had met people like her before - they tended to ignore anything that conflicted with their own view of reality. "No, he's not. He's got a - condition - that prevents him from being able to use the boys' facilities."

The secretary flipped back to the physical reports. "It says here, he's a boy. Why can't he use the boys' facilities? He certainly can't use the girls'."

Nodoka sighed. "Sometimes Ranma _is_ a girl. It's a curse he picked up in China."

The lady frowned. "That is patently absurd! There's no such thing as curses. Ranma is either a boy, or a girl."

Nodoka really hoped the secretary didn't freak out. She went to the door. "Ranma? Come here a moment."

The secretary stared as a red-headed girl entered.

Nodoka rubbed her temple. "What was it this time?"

Ranma hooked a thumb over her shoulder. "Mop bucket outside the room where they had us taking the test."

The secretary glared at the pair. "This is _not_ amusing! I don't know who you are young lady, but you're going to get detention for this little stunt."

Ranma sighed. "Not even signed up yet and already getting detention..."

Nodoka motioned at Ranma. "This is my son, or rather, his cursed form."

The secretary frowned at her. "I don't appreciate being made a fool of. This is not your son - or _anyone's_ son for that matter!"

Nodoka pulled out a thermos and handed it to Ranma. The girl unscrewed the top, poured out some hot water into the cap, then dumped it over her head. There was a thud as the secretary fainted.

Ranma screwed the top back on and handed it back to his mother. "I'm getting used to that reaction."

Nodoka shook her head. "This might take some time." She leaned over the woman and started patting her face until she stirred.

The secretary pulled herself back up into her chair. "I - I - I don't think I can make any kind of decision on this. You'll have to speak with the Vice Principal."

The pair followed the woman to another room and waited for her to confer with her superior. She finally motioned them to enter.

The Vice Principal clapped a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Ranma here looks like a strapping young lad. He shouldn't have any trouble with our fine upstanding boys!"

Nodoka handed Ranma a bottle of drinking water. Ranma gave her a beseeching look before upending the bottle over his head.

The Vice Principal's eyes grew wide as Ranma changed into a young busty red-head. "You can't use the boys' facilities like this! The boys here are compete and utter perverts! There's no telling what would happen!"

Ranma glared at the older man. "What happened to those _fine upstanding boys_ you were talking about?"

The Vice Principal gave her an irritated look. "It's a matter of perspective. They _would_ have been fine and upstanding if not for your little problem." He started pacing back and forth. "Maybe you can wait until the other boys are done, then use the facilities. You should be safe enough."

Ranma growled a little. "It's not me you should be worried about."

The older man continued as if he didn't hear Ranma. "No, that wouldn't work. The moment the boys learned of this, they would just wait and ambush her... er - him." He tugged at what little hair he had remaining. He turned to Ranma. "What controls the change?"

"The temperature of the water. Cold water changes me to this form, and hot water returns me to my normal form."

The Vice Principal thought a moment. "Maybe if we just shut off the cold water in the boys facilities..."

Ranma held up the water bottle.

The older man shook is head. "Right, right. Outside sources of water can't be controlled." He sat in his chair and buried his face in his hands. "I haven't had this much trouble since the Tendo girl."

Nodoka sighed. "You can't transfer Ranma as you did Akane. His father would never agree to the commute time needed to reach another school."

"Why not? Children commute as much as two hours to get to better schools." He was truly puzzled.

She tried to explain. "Ranma is heir to the family school of martial arts. I am fortunate enough to get his father to agree to the amount of time school takes away from his training as it is. He'd sooner have Ranma drop out than 'waste' two to four hours commuting to school. Besides, he would still have this problem anywhere he were to go."

The Vice Principle sat back. "Yes, but it wouldn't be _my_ problem." He sighed. "Well... we do have a separate shower facility for the coaches; it has a lock to prevent unauthorized use. It was the only facilities we had before the new gymnasium was built. The best I can do is provide Ranma a key and have him work something out with the coaches."

Ranma smiled evilly and cracked her knuckles. "No problem."

Nodoka shook her head at her child. "At least try _talking_ with them first."

Ranma pouted for a moment. "If I gotta."

The Vice Principal looked at Nodoka with some hope in his eyes. "Now, if there isn't anything else?"

Nodoka shook her head. "Nothing else beyond the normal problems of entering school late in the term."

He smiled. "All right then. We'll get -" he glanced at the papers he'd taken from the secretary, "Ranma, Nabiki, and -" he did a double-take at the forms. "Shampoo?" He shook his head. He should have taken early retirement when he had the chance. "We'll get the children to their classes. Thank you for coming by." He bowed to Nodoka.

****

Ranma, Nabiki, and Shampoo met by the gates after school before heading home.

Nabiki started the conversation. "So Ranma. How did you make out with the coaches?"

Ranma smirked. "We took it to the mats, best two out of three falls."

Nabiki took note of his expression. "I take it from your expression that they didn't even get a fall?"

Ranma nodded. "Yep! So they agreed that I would have ten minutes uncontested in the coaches' shower after class, on one condition."

"And that is?"

Ranma looked embarrassed. "I gotta give them some lessons." He laughed nervously. "It seems they're looking for any edge they can get on the students here. It seems they didn't break up those morning fights with Akane because they weren't sure they could take that many opponents at once."

Shampoo grabbed an arm. "That seems like a good deal. You get your privacy while they get free lessons." She leaned her head against his shoulder as Nabiki frowned. "At least you had a better day than me. Stupid boy with bokken attacked me at lunch. He was babbling about defeating me for a date."

Ranma frowned at Nabiki. "You didn't tell anyone Shampoo was an Amazon, did you?"

Nabiki looked irritated. "Of course not!" She sighed. "From the description, it sounds like Tatewaki Kuno, the lunatic who made trouble for Akane earlier in the term. His challenge to Shampoo is the same one he made to Akane. At least I'm not stuck in his class. Heavens forbid he discovers Akane is my sister."

All three teens frowned and walked a while in silence.

Ranma finally broke the silence. "So, we headed back to the Tendo - uh - your place?"

Nabiki smiled. "You can call it home, Ranma."

Ranma looked slightly forlorn. "It's been such a long time. We haven't really had anyplace we could call home."

Shampoo looked back and forth between the pair. "I guess I am fortunate I was able to grow up in the village with my family and friends. This is my first major trip away from home."

Nabiki moved ahead slightly, then stopped and waved over her shoulder. "Come on. Auntie will have dinner ready in a couple hours."

Ranma smiled - a genuine smile. "_Now_ you're talking. Let's go home."

_End Chapter Two_

Next time, Ryoga returns, Kuno attacks, and Akane is forced to fight her old school chums.

More Author's Notes: Japanese schools often don't have showers in the gyms. The coaches may have a shower they can use since they have to teach several classes, but the students merely have a changing room and cubbies for their phys-ed shoes. This leads to large amounts of perfume being used by the girls after phys-ed class until they can go home and bathe. Given the scenes of the girls' changing room in the manga, it appears that Furinkan is one of those schools that _doesn't_ have showers. Most fanfiction writers, me included, usually have shower facilities at Furinkan simply because Americans are used to such things and take them for granted. It's also a useful plot device.

Chapter Two Omake Scenes - these are all currently my own ideas.

~~~~

Kasumi smiled slightly. "It'll be nice to see little Ranma again."

Akane gave her a blank look. "Who?"

Kasumi smiled at her. "You probably don't remember too well. Little boy, black hair in a pony-tail, you chased him around the yard with a board..."

"Oh yeah! Him. You're right, I _don't_ remember too well. I wouldn't have remembered at all if you hadn't reminded me of our fight. He got me mad for some reason I can't recall." She tried to bring more details to mind, but gave it up; it had just been too long. She had a sip from her drink.

Soun thought about it a moment. "Didn't he get mud on your stuffed rabbit?"

Kasumi shook her head. "No, that was Shinji from next door."

Akane laughed. "Yeah. I made him eat mud for that!"

Kasumi shook her head. "You shouldn't have done that." She thought a second. "I believe he shoved Akane down the stairs while his folks were here visiting."

Soun shook his head. "I believe that was Mrs. Nogoya's boy."

Kasumi rapped her head with her knuckles. "Silly me! That's right. The PTA was most displeased over that incident."

Akane looked embarrassed. "Uh - yeah. I had to spend a week in detention. Stupid school administrator's kid." She tried to remember that incident with Ranma, but it had been so long ago. "Hmm, didn't Ranma pour tea over my head?"

Kasumi shook her head. "No, that was little Hiro. His brother was taking lessons."

Soun nodded. "Yes. He quit after you beat him black and blue for trying to keep you from stomping his little brother."

Akane went from embarrassed to mortified. "Do we really need to be bringing this back up?"

Kasumi laughed. "You _are_ taking your medication, right?"

~~~~

Kasumi turned red in embarrassment. She turned to the final member of the Saotome party. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

Shampoo bowed. "It is not a problem. I am Ranma's wife, Shampoo."

The word was amplified by the number of voices saying it together. "_WIFE_?!"

Nodoka just rubbed her temples. "Due to a - problem - Genma got himself into, Ranma had to fight Shampoo; he defeated her. Unfortunately, Shampoo's people are Amazons, and their law is that if an outside male defeats an Amazon woman, she must marry him." She forestalled any outbursts. "The Japanese government doesn't recognize their marriage, and their own laws allow for polygamous marriages, so there shouldn't be any problems having Ranma marry Akane under Japanese law."

Akane turned to her father. "Daddy, there is _no way_ I am marrying this _pervert_!"

Shampoo faced off against her. "You will not call my husband a pervert!"

Akane turned to her father again. "Daaaadddddy!"

He gave her a stern look. "Akane, this is a matter of family honor. Saotome and I arranged this marriage to unite the houses and preserve the family legacy. There is no choice in the matter. Nodoka says you can still legally marry Ranma, and Shampoo here doesn't look to much different than that girl you were dating from your girls' school last month, so I do not see any reason not to continue the engagement."

~~~~

Ranma stumbled and almost fell as Akane glowered. He crossed the room to stand opposite the glaring girl. He sighed and shook his head. His only memories of the girl was of her pounding him on the head with a board. He had the sinking feeling that things hadn't changed in the least since then.

Nabiki moved off to the side. She waited until Akane moved into a basic kenpo stance. She knew Ranma would just stand there like normal. Given her fight against her sister, Nabiki knew Ranma would have to treat this a little more seriously than his normal fights.

"Ready - _fight_!"

A short while later, Ranma came running out of the dojo with Akane right on his heels. She had a long board in her hands and proceeded to whack Ranma over the head with it as she got the opportunity.

"Ah _geez_ Akane! Didn't you ever learn more than hitting people with a board?!"

~~~~

Nabiki started the conversation. "So Ranma. How did you make out with the coaches?"

Ranma smirked. "We took it to the mats, best two out of three falls."

Nabiki took note of his expression. "I take it from your expression that they didn't even get a fall?"

Ranma nodded. "Yep! So they agreed that I would have ten minutes uncontested in the coaches' shower after class, on one condition."

"And that is?"

Ranma looked embarrassed. "I gotta pose as the fiancée for one of them while his mother's in town. Seems he told her he was engaged to keep her from match-making. Now she's here to meet her future daughter-in-law."

~~~~

End Chapter Two Omake Scenes 


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